Coventry TUC hosts anti-cuts meeting

Last night saw Coventry TUC host a public meeting on the issue of the cuts and austerity. Around 45 people turned out to hear a wide variety of speakers from many different unions and campaigns.

Dan Crowter of Coventry Against the Bedroom Tax

The main speaker was Kindy Sandhu, author of ‘Layers of Inequality’ which examines the effects of the cuts on minorities. Many good platform speakers followed from Unison, CYWU / Unite and the FBU. Also speaking from the front were members of NAPO and an activist from the Coventry against the Bedroom Tax campaign.

Judy Griffiths of the CWU

There was a wealth of figures used which showed graphically how working class people are being hit by the cuts. The key question now is what to do about it? Many speakers, including Socialist Party members active in the trade unions, pointed out that we need co-ordinated industrial action. It is 2 years since the huge N30 2011 pension strike, which saw up to 2 million workers take industrial action. This serious momentum was squandered by many of the TU leaders and now the task is to rebuild confidence in the workplace and amongst people more widely that these cuts can be challenged and beaten.

Dave Nellist

However as Dave Nellist pointed out, there has to be a political strategy linked to an industrial one. Earlier this year every single councillor in Coventry, including every Labour councillor, voted to implement the cuts and pass on Tory brutality to the people of the city. In this context it is necessary to build an alternative to the main establishment parties which can begin to popularise the ideas of socialism, in opposition to capitalism which forces us time and time again to pay for a crisis not of our making.